Rotary internal combustion engine



Sept. 17, 1940. l.. HocKER, JR(

I ROTARY INTERNAL COMBUSTION yENGINE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 2, 1938sept. 17, 1940. 1 HQKER. JR 2,214,833

ROTARY INTERNAL coMusTIN Engl-NE Fi1d Dec. 2, 1958 2 sheets-sheet 2V l EI 7V* 'I )if TV INVENTOR 'l aow Patented Sept. 17, 1940 UNITED,4s'rATlss PATENT OFFICE 14 Claims.

Tlis application is a continuation in part of my application-of October17, 1936, Serial No.l 106,121, now abandoned. I

This invention relatesto internal combustion engines of the rotarytypein which the power im" pulse 'is imparted directly to a rotating piston.

It is an object of my invention to create an engine of this type whichwill seal the' firing chamber first with the compressing face of therotor and then with the driven face with maximum efiiciency and `minimumparts.

It is a further' object of the invention to pronduce simultaneously-thefour. ph 'ses of the internal-.combustion cycle, intake, co pression,explo` sion, ,and exhaust, in order to provide an approximately constantpower impulse in each cylinder v and thereby achieve evenness ofoperation, and a favorable weight-'to-horsepower ratio without sacriceof simplicity. f

the edge of the piston itself for the only cam, thereby avoiding the useof timinggears, camshafts, cranks, etc.'r

It is a further object, of the .invention to keep all moving parts andthe cylinder walls free from carbon. 1 It is a further object of theinvention the reciprocating masses to a minimum, in order to minimizeweight, inertia, and friction.

It is a further object of the invention to subfstitute ports for valves,thereby to avoid excess of paru l Itis a further object of thevinvention to'overcome the inertia of theexplosive gas onintroduction'into the 'cylinder by centrifugal force.

' The, accompanying 'illustration is of a type of my invention wherein:v

Fig. J1 is avertical face of the rotor; Fig."2 is a section at rightangles to. the plane ^I o Figfl taken substantially` along the line 2 2;

Fig. 3 is asimilar section along thefline 3-3 'f Fig. 411s a similarsection along Athe lined-4 Fig. 5 is a similarsectio'n along the line5-5 of Fis-1; 'l

' It isa further object of the invention to utilize to reduce" sectionof the assembled engine substantially the plane of the front Fig. 6 is asimiiar section along the une s-s 'of perspective drawing. of a tonguedFig. 9 is a perspective drawing of a grooved sate: v Figs. 10, 11, 12are diagrammatic representations of theengine in operation, wherein dots4represent the unexploded gas, circles the explod- 5 ing gas, andcrossed circles the exploded gas. Fig. 10 shows the rotor about 120advanced from the position of Fig. 1.

Fig.. 11 shows the rotorabout 60 advanced from the position of Fig'.`10./. Fig. 12 shows the rotor about.

from the position of Fig. =11.

Inlthe drawings, a cylinder is shown at 1, with 4 diametrically opposedcombustionfchambers 8 and (i, tted with appropriate water jackets I 8,1g;v each flanked with twogate courses, II and I2, and I3 and I4,respectively, and each provided with spark-plugs (or injectors-notshownfor Diesel operatipr) I5. Cut in the back face, I1, of the cylinderare slots in extension of the gate courses Il, I2, I3, I4 for housing atseals I9, urged inwardly by appropriate springs, 20. Alsov cut in theback face, I1, are an exhaust port, 2I and ashaft journal, 22.

'.Anrelongated rotor is 'shown 'at 24 keyed with 25 the shaft 25, to twith minimum clearance in the cylindery 1. On one long side it isequipped lwith/a tongue 26 and on the other with a groove.. 21.` Oneither end, between the ends of the full Y tongue and full groove, itisshaped in arcs, 28 30 and 29, corresponding .to that of.- the cylinder,1, 'and sufficiently long tospan the compression chambers 8 and 9. Inthe middleof these arcuate portions,g28 and 29 are inset wall seals, 30,movable in the direction of the radial planes they intercept. -Onitsfront face, the4 rotor is jour- 10 120 advanced naled for intake-ringseals, 3|, urged outwardly by appropriate springs, 332.. These sealsilank an intake trench; 33, cutin the front face of 'the rotor,connected by an open passage, 34 to the pe'- 40 riphery of the rotorwhere its grooved side 21. touches its arcuate end," 28. Likewise, onthe back face, the rotor/ is journaled for exhaustr ring `seals I8,urged outwardly by appropriate springs,

23. These seals flank an exhaust trench, I6, cut in the back face of therotor 24, connected by an open passage 85 .to the periphery of the rotorwhere itst'onguedI side, 26, touches its. arcuate end, 28. s

The rotor` 24 is grooved on the front fac'e for head slot sea1s'86,l andon the back face for base slot seals, 31, also'urged outward by springsand running diagonally from the largest ringseal 3| and I8,respectively, to the sideof the waill seals, 55 i 30, and tapered attheir inner end to allow for passing under the gate seals, I9.

The gates are of two types, `as shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9, the formerbeing faced with a tongue designed to fit with appropriate clearance thesides of the tongue of gate in Fig. 8 and the inner sides of theshoulders of gate in Fig. 9 are equipped with slot seals 38, urgedoutwardly and inwardly, respectively, by springs, 38s. Both lgates'areequipped with pockets, 39, for housing springs which, whenv theengine'is assembled, urge the gates down their respective coursesagainst the edges of the rotor, 24. This urging is supplemented inoperation by the action of the air compressed. behind the gates in thecourses.

When assembled, the cylinder 1 is enclosed by ahead, 4I, which, like theback face, is provided with a shaft bearing, 42, and. an intake port,43, openl to the carburetor (not shown), and .at seals i9, urged inwardby springs, 20. Although for simplicity this common device is notillustrated, theshaft is geared to a timing device 'for sparking theplugs (or injecting fuel in Diesel operation) at appropriate points inthe rotation of the rotor.

Gate courses I2 and I4 house tongued gates and 41, respectively, andgate courses II and I3 house grooved gates46 and-48, respectively.

The terminations of the tongue, 26, and groove, 21,'of the rotor, 24,are tapered inward and out- Ward, respectively, as in Fig. '1 tocompress the Fig. 2 gate 46 does not seal, the gas will be chased- 1through thegrooves to the compression chamber 9. When the chamber 9 isfully charged, thev drawing gas from the outside of the cylinder 1 vthrough the opening 43 in the head, 4I, the intake trench, 33, andintake tunnel 34. A's the rotation proceeds to the position of Fig.'11,the

charge is trapped between gate 41 sealing, as

gate 45 seals, in Fig. 5, and the other end 29 of the rotor, 24. Thegrooved gate 48 not sealing with the grooved side, 21 of the rotor, 24,as in gas is red as in Fig. 12. The tongued side 26 of the. rotor -nowbeing in contact with grooved .gate 48, causing a seal, as in Fig. 2,the gas can expand* only-by causing the rotor 24 to revolve clockwisethrough the\position of Figure 1 and to the position of Fig. l0.v Inthat positionA groovedgate 46 will seal with the tongued side 26 of thei gas will be compressed and must escape to the' outside of the enginethroughexhaust tunnel 3B, trench I6, and outlet 2l, thus completingthecycle in two revolutions. vBut reference to Figs. 1, 10, 1l, and,12demonstrates that saving for the periods when the ends of the rotor 24pass over the compression chambers 8 and 9, the, four' phases of intake,compression, power and scavenging are each taking place simultaneously,and

As this end advances to tl'iatv each phase occurs twice in veachrevolution:

'the power phases, for example, occurring in chamber v9 in Figs. 12 and1 and in' chamber 8.

in Figs. V10 and 11.

No means of lubrication are`considered in this specification, it beingdesired to make this as simple an application of the principle aspossible,l

and it being contemplated that the lubrication of the interior of themotor will be achieved, as in two-cycle motors by mixing oil with thegasoline.

What I claim for this invention is:

1. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder, a non-cylindrical rotormounted for rotation therein and sealing with said cylinder at`itsopposite ends, said rotor having a grooveon one side edge and a tongueon the other, ignition means at two opposite points onsaid cylinder, anda pair of sealing means adjacent to said ignition means, one of whichhas a tongue adapted 4to make contact with one rotor edge, and theagainst the cylinder, opposed ignition means inthe cylinder, a pair ofsealing means adjacent to each ignition means, one side of said rotorhaving means adapted toV seal with one of each pair of sealing means,andthe other-side of the rotor having means to seal with the other ofeach the circumference of the cylinder at either end, f

and a. pair of sealing means adjacent to the ignition meansv and movableto make vcontact with Y the rotor, one sideofY the rotor having meansadapted to seal with one of said sealing means but not with the second,the other side of the .rotor having means adapted to seal with thesecond of said sealing means, but not with the first and constantly openintake and exhaust ports in said rotor, on. either side of 'one sealingendi thereof. Y

' 4. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder,l

means adjacent to said chamber to release said gas to the power area asthe said area successively passes said means, and to restrict release ofgas to such of said power area` as `has' passed said means, 4a.constantly open intake passage and a constantly open exhaust passage atthe other end Vsuccessively passes said means, reciprocating oftherotor, on/ the edge containing the compression area and on the edgecontaining the power sages separating the same.

Y 5. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder, a rotor thereinhaving a. compression area along area,.respectively,. and means between-said pas-` one edge, a-power farea on another edge, and means at oneend separating said areas, a l fmbustion chamber, meaxis adjacent tosaid vcli/aniber and beyond the same in the direction/of rotation -toseal against-the compressionnarea of the rotor but not the power area,and meansexhaust port adjacent to the other end of the rotor on thepower area edge, and an intake port adjacent to the other end of therotor on the cornpression area edge and means separating the same.

l 6. In an internalcombustion engine, a cylinder, an elongated rotorcontaining exhaust and intake ports separated by a portion oi' therotor/ bearing on the cylinder adapted to rotate in 'one direction insaid cylinder, ignition means in said cylinder, slides on said cylinder,one on eachs'ide of each ignition means, capable of seating on the-having means on one side to seal with the-first oi!A said slides butnot with the second, and having means on the other side to seal with thesecond but not with the first, said rotor having an exhaust passage atone end on the first side, and an vintake passage at the same en'di onthe second side.

8. In an internal combustion engine, a plurality of firing chambers, arotor having a number of sides equal to the number of firing chambers,

a pair of valve means on opposite sides of each ring chamber and.adapted to make contact with the rotor, adjacent sides of said rotorhaving different edge contours, and one of said valve means having acomplementary contact surface for one edge contour of the rotor but notthe ad:- jacent suchv contour, the other' valve means having a contactsurface complementary toA said ad-4 jacent edge contour but not to thefirst, so mounted that the said valve means will seal each firingchamber at certain points in rotation with the part of the rotorapproaching the said ilring chamber, and at other points in rotationwith. that part of the rotor retreating from the firing chamber. v

9? In an internal combustion motor composed oi.' a non-cylindrical bodyrotating with respect to acylindrical body, a plurality of ring chamberson the cylinder each flanked with a pair o f sealing means bearing onthe non-cylindrical body, the firstv of -every such. pair being similarin contour of bearing face, and the second of every such pair being -sosimilar, but the/first of eachl pair being so dissimilar from thesecond" of eaclr pair'; the non-cylindrical body having as many facesand also as many ridges between faces,.sealing with the cylinder, asthere are iiring'chambers, every oddface being contoured complementarilywith the first of each pair of sealing means and every even face beingcontoured complementarily with the second o f each sealing means, havingports for exhaust and intake on the leading and following sides,respectively, of vevery other such sealing ridge, connectedbyappropriate passage'to the'outside of thev motor, so that the exhaustport appears on the faces contoured complementarily with the- -first ofeach pair of sealing means andthe intake port appearsv on the facescontoured complementarily with the second of each pair of sealing means(with appropriate ignition means adjusted to fire the charge in eachfiring chamber when the ridges not adjoined by the ports thereunder. A

10. In an internal combustion engine, a plu- /rality of firing chambers,a rotor having a number of sides equal to the number of firing chambers,a pair of valve means on opposite sides of each firing chamber andadapted to bear on the rotor, adjacent sides of the rotor havingdiiIerent edge contoursand one of said valve means having acomplementary contact surface for one edge contour of the rotor but notthe adjacent such contour, the other valve means having a contactsurface complementary. to said adjacent edge contour, but not to thefirst, the parts of said rotor between such adjacent sides sealingagainst the circumference of saidcylinder, the whole so mounted that asone part of said rotor sealing with the cylinder wall passes each firingchamber the pair of valve means will successive- 1y seal the firingchamber with the part of the rotor approaching the said ring chamber,and

then with that part of the rotor retreating from the firing' chamber,and that as the successive part of the rotor sealing with the cylinderwall passes the same firing chamber the pair of valve means willsuccessively seal the firing chamber from the part ofthe rotorapproaching the said firing chamber, and then from that part of therotor retreating from the firingl chamber.

11. In an internal combustion engine composed of a body rotating withrespect to a cylindrical body, two reciprocating sealing means in thecylindrical body bearing on the faces of the other body, said faces, andthe bearing surfaces ofsaid 'sealing means being of such profile insection when plane of 'section includes theaxis that one face will fitand hence seal with thesecond sealing meavns but not with the irst,v andthat another face will fit and hence seal with the first sealing meansbut notyvith the second.

12. 1n a. rotatable device, sealing' means, the borne edge of which isso designed with the bearing surface passing over it that where the twosurfaces are complementary in section when plane of section includes theaxis' they-will seal, and where they are not, they will not seal.

13. A reciprocating valve sealing against the edge 'of a rotating bodyat various angles, and having on the borne edgemore than one surface,the. borne edge of which is so designed that all vsections thereof,taken parallelto the plane of of the same or co-axial cylinposed of anon-cylindrical body rotating with respect to a cylindrical body flankedwith firing "chambers each adjoined by abutments periodically sealingwith'the non-cylindrical body, Said non-cylindrical body vsealing withthe circumferenc e of the cylindrical body on portions of its periphery,and having constantly open intake and exhaust ports on either side 'ofevery alternate such 'portion of thehun-cylindrical body, means forpreventing' the sealing of abutments o'n an arc of the cylindrical bodybetween two such chambers while the sealing portions of' the'noncylindrical body which 'are not adjoined by such ports pass betweenthem.

y LON HOCKER,JR.

